Planting today all day

After all the work the last week or two on the soil preparations today was the big day. Over 21 things went into the soil. The list on side bar is the total so far. Mostly.

Arizona fall garden

My moon phase was a little off but I went with it due to the lateness of the season.
This was a long hot summer here.
I lost 4 weeks.

I was able to get a full truck bed load of compost at a farm for 20$
If you can find horse rather than cow manure you do well...
It is a much better balanced nitrogen without so much salt in it.
That right bed is the root bed dug down 12 inched and screened, no rock, no clod just
"let my roots spread out"
sorta finery

So we began this first cool morn of the fall.
A Wednesday.
This is what I began with.
Soup to mix as it were the soils and compost, amendments of 10-10-10- and peat moss for the root bed. Carrots and the like want a good 50% of it if you can swing it. They just love peat moss. Get the good stuff see the last post.

This is all that was left after the beds had the added levels and the raised beds of the extension were filled. This will be used to hill up the leek as it grows ever so slowly 120 crop.
The South extension bed is a High Nitrogen bed so the thick load of composted manure/straw and grass was the perfect thing some of the clod is in it too. It is hoped that the moisture with the watering of it will break them down.

All the former straw mulch raked out and the compost was added in its stead and dug in a bit.
The cucumber to be replanted soon.
Some of the pan squash is beginning to bloom.

A thick layer of the compost added all around the giant pumpkin and the other winter squash.

Not just one corn cob in the mix was found.
Good to see real life in this compost.
Everything but the cob rotted down.
All of this stirred and mixed very well.
This a LOW nitrogen bed the amendments were light see old post...the 10-10-10- and the other things were already melted into the mix from days and watering before.

Now the raised beds full must be turned and prepared with the final mix as per the needs of those things yet to plant.

The bails of straw that were the garden wall last season will this year don the tomato plants.
This will cover the tank and also raise them higher for me to harvest.
Much easier on my back.
Using a spade and a hand rake the center was dug out a bit.
Then compost and peat moss was tapped into the hollow.
Watering it and feeding the soil will come after to have them ready come the spring.

By setting up a work table my life was made easier.
It was nice to be with the dogs and the birds, they especially thought so.

A nice glass of soy milk and coffee a huge glass of ice water and all the books, charts and seeds set me up for success.

Enjoying my coffee the almanac was pursued and the plans began to be set into motion.
What to plant, when and where.
It all came together but then the temperature was tipping up toward 90* and I had to stop.
All the seeds that had to be soaked were brought in with my dishes and it was time to cool off.

Today began I with the seeds at the ready.
Day 2

The seeds that were soaked were
Carrot
Parsnip
Pea
Beans

The inoculate is on try to set with the bean and pea seeds.
It is a black granular thing.


So this morning with seeds soaked I set out to task.

Peas were an the agenda
I am going to be bold and do this over.
This time the soil got a load of good compost and the whole thing dug in real well.
Then the inoculate peppered over the top of it and dug in.
Fine tilled it all with the rotary wheel on the hand held pole.

All the lumps gone and the dirt soft and well broken down...

Two trenches of seed stagger two inches apart

center is bare 1/2 cover

Between the rows pea poles I made from the tree our front when I trimmed it.
We just removed the leaves and sun dried the wood.

Tip
Put water in the carrot seed and swirl it will pour out down the row controlled...


This the roots
back trench for Leek
Then mixed Parsnip and radish every 4 inches down the row.
Carrots for cooking
Carrots for the children to munch
Radish between carrot rows for salads

There is a little 1x3 at path edge on the left for some salad greens.
The left south corner yet to throw the pick and screen the soil.
Lots of rocks there.
I hope to tend to it after the south bed gets planted.
It will hopefully get cooler by then.

All the stones now removed from my path those bare foot days are ahead with the straw underfoot a soft step to the earth.

Pan summer squash bloom teased me this morning.

A waxed china marker was used to mark the wooden stakes...

The beets and dill will go here the next in the morning.

Celery needs to get in too.

Cucumber,squash,radish to seed,carrot,chive and basil with nasturtiums around. Sunflowers at head of center bed to shade.

Well there ya go them's the plans for the far north bed of the main plot
:)
The soil has had a load of horse manure and mulch mix.
Earth was turned and broken up.
Levels were made and a recessed bed established for water conservation.
This is a low nitrogen bed

Time for seed.
My dead line for planting this bed was 8/15
It is in on 8/6
hooah!

On Monday I gleaned the free page of craigs list found mulch and then found horse manure all for free.
A little gas for the truck and a lot of sweat and effort.
My Darling husband helped me night before last to empty the truck
Our method was two parts mulch in the wheelbarrow and then one of the bags of manure. Two more parts mulch mixed in the wheel barrow.
As he was doing that I took fork to earth and turned and hoe to earth to break clods.

This is the last of it for the raised bed took a lot of it and the center main plot bed the rest, after the north end had it's fill.
The East wall of the main plot will use up the rest of this.

Raised beds need to be mixed up so the soil and mulched manure is not in layers.

Here is the plan Stan...:) harhar

After study on the needs of cucumbers and squash I began in earnest to get the seed in.

The companion charts told me what would enjoy each others company.
Also the study of nitrogen needs matched things up.
The blue high lighted page is the companion guide

HERE I go!

Cucumber needs be hilled up as does the zucchini

I love this tree it was to be used as a gift project that never occurred
I dig it in and set it up as a trellis of sorts

Following my plan that was based upon many hours of research.

click on image to enlarge

Left to right

far left outer edge and back of the cube is
Japanese Soyu Burpless Cucumis sativus
HEIRLOOM 65 DAY due 2nd wk of Oct.
sprouted Aug. 13th

Hilled in the center of the left side is
Black Beauty Zucchini Cucurbita pepo
HEIRLOOM 55 DAY due 1st wk of Oct.
Sprouted Aug. 13

Center hilled on each side of the trellis is
Cucumber Marketmore Cucumis Sativus
60 DAY due 2nd wk of Oct.
a few sprouted Aug. 13

Flanking the zucchini in the furrow is
Carrot Asian New Kuroda Daucus carota var sativus
HEIRLOOM 75 DAY due 3rd week of Oct.

Horse shooed around the Marketmore is
Chives common Sllium Schoenoprasum
HEIRLOOM on going

At the head of the center row planted to shade the cucumber
Sunflower Mammoth Grey Stripe Helianthus annuus
HEIRLOOM emerges 10-15 days


Far right side

Around the back wall toward the right behind the tree too
Cucumber Homemade Pickles Cucumis Sativus
55 DAY due 1st wk of Oct.
Sprouted Aug 13 only one or two

At the foot of the tree and in the hollow there is
Squash Summer Scallop (Patty Pan) Blend Cucurbita Pepo
HEIRLOOM 55 DAY due 1st wk of Oct.
Many Sprouted Aug. 13

Along the front edge right side is
Basil Italian Large Leaf Ocimum basilicum
HEIRLOOM on going


Now scattered at each corner are a few
Radish Cherry Belle Raphanus sativus
HEIRLOOM 24 DAY due 1st week of Sept let go to seed...

These will be left to seed to attract insects off of the cucumbers and squash.

Scattered at wall edge all the way around
Nasturtium Jewel Mixed for pollination
due mid Sept.

*BEE BLISS*

As I was just a half an hour out from completion I heard thunder.
I was so focused in deep thought and prayer (my thing while in the garden) it surprised me

By photographing the beds I will have a permanent record of seed set.

NEVER STEP ON YOUR SOIL!
see the board this is straddled and then used to step on.
It diffuses the weight and keeps soil loose.

see the drops on the plank :)
Seed Packets are now safe from weather.

About this time My Boy came out to see me

The tin cans on the stakes two fold purpose to keep your eye safe and to keep the birds uneasy when they light nothing says get out of my garden like a tipping can shifting under the bird.

Although the center bed had more to break up I rapped it up and the tinkle of drops began to come.
I felt a big hug for the prayers of the morning were deep and personal
My heart being dug and hoed like that soil becoming more fertile for the seeds being sown within me. There is a time for all things.

As I sat a spell I watched as my boy set up a track an obstacle course to play with his car on. Now funny thing when your in the garden and time slows...You see so many deeper lessons. You see even in obstacles the planks had to be set just right in order for the greater pit falls to be avoided. He had to make sure the board were set up just right to make the course run as directed.
God must be pretty busy teaching and building things up to set us just right to make it through the obstacles we each face.

Well I gathered the books and papers, seed packets and camera and was off to the porch when.

It began JUST THEN to rain lightly
a refreshing sort of very light big drops release.
Sorta like tender tears that fall big when ya see what your suppose to see.

NOTE when I spoke of salting the earth I was speaking in poetic term...I mean to sprinkle the amendments as one would salt.

soil preperations for gardening

Perlite is exploded at 1800 degrees, it is steral lets air flow good for root starter.
sterel
potting mix for starting cuttings and seedlings.
gardening sand, washed builder sand drainage, not too much or it can dry out to fast
peat moss, for moisture Canadian, Michigan, Florida holds the water and nutrients holds water 25% of the garden soil
Back yard soil leaves and debris good ph add amendment vermiculite, perlite and sand compost
Cow manure soil improvement, staral "black Kow" is a high quality that has 1/2 of npk in it holds water and organic mater. 25lbs to 100 feet of garden
Using a PH Scale Acid/alkalinity sweetness or sourness of the soil...dolomite for to acid...alkaline add soil acidify 5.5 to 6.6 for the garden check every 6 months
Wood chips, pine, redwood, cypress, recycled...hold moisture and nutrients...like a mulch.
plant food 16 essential elements (hidden hunger) use a complete plant food.

boran

Very little in general. Boron occurs in very small amounts in soil - less than 1 part per million so you have to be very cautious in trying to correct it. The balance is upset by excess of the major minerals - such as you can get when too much nitrogen and calcium are used . Sometimes the use of uncomposted manures creates this. You could try a proprietary mix of trace elements or try this. Mix a quarter level teaspoon of borax with a half gallon of water for using over an area 5 square feet. Use acidic mulches.

Soil Secretes

Gardeners add fertilizers to the soil to feed the soil microbes, which control the flow of sulfur, nitrogen and other nutrients to the plants.

Soil isn’t just dirt. It is alive, teeming with tons of organisms per acre. Earthworms come to mind first, but in spite of the fact that we cannot see them, microorganisms comprise a greater weight per acre than worms! Without these microbes, life as we know it would not exist.

Soil microbes control the flow of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and other soil nutrients. Microbes flourish when the soil nutrients are in balance. Essentially, when we add fertilizer to our soils, we are feeding the microbes, which then release nutrients to, or “feed”, plants. Some soil microbes even produce substances, which help to control plant diseases. Provide the microbes in your soil with a balanced diet of nutrients, and they will feed your plants with a balanced diet of available nutrients. Strangely, it possible to apply too much compost!

Soil science is extremely complex. For every action there is a reaction. For example, for every 1% increase in the base saturation of calcium, there is a 1% decrease in the base saturation of magnesium. The levels of other nutrients impact each nutrient’s availability. By adding too much of one nutrient, you are almost certain to reduce the availability of one or more other nutrients.

Even compost, revered by gardeners as a super soil builder, can be over-applied! Too much compost can make potassium so high that boron and manganese are less readily available to plants.

How pH affects nutrient availability

In low pH soils, aluminum reaches toxic levels and reduces plant uptake of the essential nutrients – calcium, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus. Iron and manganese toxicities can also occur.

In high pH soils (7.5 pH or higher), iron, manganese, zinc and boron are less available to plants.

The pH is essentially a measurement of how well nutrients are balanced. When nutrients are balanced to a pH of 6.5, phosphorus (the “P” in N-P-K) is most available to plants. As you move in either direction from 6.5, phosphorus becomes less available. As a practical matter, soil pH will be impossible to maintain at exactly 6.5. However, with proper soil management, soil pH can be kept between 6.0 and 6.5, a range that is optimal for most nutrients, and, as a result, for most plants.

Healthy plants start with fertile, nutrient-balanced soil

*High yields. The level of yield can be no greater than that allowed by the poorest of the essential plant nutrients
*Better nutritional content of crops. Studies have shown that fresh-grown produce can be much higher in vitamins and minerals that store-bought produce.
*Crops that grow vigorously are less vulnerable to insect attack. Weak plants are always the first to be attacked by pests.


Soil Composition has a major impact on fertilizer requirements

It is no surprise that the “inert” or mineral composition of soils varies widely from region to region. However, it is surprising to discover how much difference can exist in soils from one end of your property to another.
Farmers recognize this and are now using satellite technology to allow them to make adjustments in the amount of nutrients applied to different areas of the same field.

There is no single fertilizer, whether it is organic or chemically derived, which can provide optimal results in all soil types.

While an N-P-K fertilizer will generally improve results, depending on the soil type, it will only proved one portion of the nutrients needed to produce truly healthy plants and bountiful yields.